Bob Dylan to Be Inducted Into American Academy of Arts and Letters

March 14, 2013 09:40:14 GMT

The legendary rock singer/songwriter gets voted into the elite academy for music, literature and visual arts.

Photo credit: /WENN

Bob Dylan has just added another feather on his illustrious cap as he gets voted as one of this year's inductees into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The pop music and cultural icon breaks barriers by being the first rock star to be named to the elite, century-old academy of music, literature and visual arts, joining previous inductees as brilliant filmmakers Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese and Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep.

"The board of directors considered the diversity of his work and acknowledged his iconic place in the American culture," academy executive director Virginia Dajani explained the choice. "Bob Dylan is a multi-talented artist whose work so thoroughly crosses several disciplines that it defies categorization."

Although Dylan accepted the honorary membership into the academy, it being a condition to be voted, there was no confirmation yet as to whether he will attend the academ's April dinner or May induction ceremony. "I would guess it's unlikely," Dajani downplayed expectations, knowing that the 71-year-old performer is already booked to play a host of shows in the East and Midwest at that time.

Prior to this most recent recognition, Dylan is also the first rocker to receive a Pulitzer Prize and a nomination from the National Book Critics Circlefor his memoir "Chronicles: Volume One". He's also consistently name-dropped for a Nobel Prize despite being constantly scrutinized by academics and popular critics.